Simple words like “nice,” “mean,” “fun,” “good” and “bad” are convenient to use and easy to learn, but they just don’t capture our full range of emotions and thoughts!

Sure, they’ll more or less get your point across, but with a broader Spanish vocabulary, you’ll be able to express yourself more accurately and authentically in Spanish.

Read on for 30 awesome, unique, intriguing and specific vocab words that you can use to describe people’s personalities.

It’s time to move beyond the basics!

Gender, Number and Adjectives: A Quick Refresher

When studying personality adjectives, it’s important to keep in mind a few key Spanish grammar concepts.

Gender

First, when you’re using an adjective to describe somebody, you must take into account the person’s gender. The general rule is that when describing a male, you should end the word in –o. When describing a female, end the word in -a.

Frequently, words that end in a consonant, in an -e or in the suffix -ista are the same whether you’re talking about a male or a female. For example, the words fiel(loyal), cobarde(cowardly) and egoísta (selfish) all stay the same regardless of the gender of the person you’re talking about.

Of course, there are many exceptions to this rule! Some of the words on this list end in a consonant when male, but require an added -a when female—such as encantador and encantadora (charming).

Number

When using personality adjectives, make sure the adjective matches with the number of people you’re talking about. With few exceptions, adjectives must change when you’re talking about more than one person.

If the word ends in a vowel, merely add an -s. If it ends in a consonant, add an -es.

When you’re talking about a mixed-gender group of people, default to using the male form of the adjective—even if there’s only one male in the group! (Although some people may include both feminine and masculine forms in spoken Spanish to fairly represent both genders, in general it is still avoided and considered wordy and redundant.)

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Each vocabulary word on this next list is accompanied by an example sentence to give you a sense of how these words can be used. However, if you require more examples, there are many great internet references that can help you get a sense of native speakers’ word use.

One resource is the forums at WordReference, where Spanish learners can ask native speakers and advanced learners about particular words and phrases. I’ve also found the translation dictionary Linguee super useful. In addition to giving you a definition and translation, Linguee also provides side-by-side English and Spanish sentences that can help you get a sense for the context in which a word is used.

The Good

How do you describe someone who you think is really great, without just using the same words over and over? These words will help you do just that.

5. Fiel — Loyal

6. Gracioso/a — Gracious, Funny

Gracioso/a is a multipurpose word. It can mean gracious and charming. It can also mean funny or entertaining. Plus, it can serve as a synonym for “nice” or “pleasant.” It does not, however, mean “graceful,” which is more properly translated as agraciado/a or elegante.

Los dos hermanos son muy graciosos. Siempre nos hacen reír mucho.(The two brothers are very funny. They always make us laugh a lot.)

7. Listo/a — Clever

Perhaps you’ve heard the word listo before to mean “ready,” as in the phrase ¿estás listo? (are you ready?) However, when accompanied with the verb ser (to be) rather than estar (to be), listo is a personality trait meaning clever or quick.

8. Seguro/a — Self-confident

When describing objects, situations or locales, seguro means “safe.” But when describing a person, it generally refers to somebody who’s self-assured or self-confident.

¡Se ve que él es muy seguro porque baila en público sin miedo!(You can see that he is very confident because he dances in public without fear!)

9. Sincero/a — Sincere

Confío en mis amigos porque son muy sinceros y nunca me mienten.(I trust my friends because they are very sincere and they never lie to me.)

10. Tenaz — Tenacious

Like other Spanish adjectives that end in z, if you want to use tenaz in a plural context, switch the z for a ces.

Son muy tenaces, y por eso suelen tener éxito.(They are very tenacious, and that’s why they tend to be successful.)

The Neutral

Some of these words describe someone’s personality, without making a specifically positive or negative judgment. Others can be positive or negative, depending on the context.

11. Caprichoso/a — Capricious, whimsical, moody, fickle

This is one word that can have a positive or negative connotation depending on context. You might describe a happy-go-lucky person as caprichoso, but the word could just as easily refer to somebody flighty or somebody who doesn’t think before acting.

16. Orgulloso/a — Prideful, arrogant

At times, orgulloso/a is positive and means to feel pride for something. However, in other contexts, the same word can take on a more negative connotation, referring to a person who’s perhaps a little too proud and verges on being arrogant.

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